The Coconut Oil Story

Virgin coconut oil handmade in villages

Organic, cold-pressed coconut oil is the main ingredient in all Mailelani skincare products. The coconut palm (cocos nucifera) is found in all tropical regions of the world and thrives in Samoa. Historically, the local people have harvested different parts of this bountiful tree for a whole range of uses – hard material and fibre, health and nutrition. You can use every part of the coconut tree.

Mailelani’s skincare products are all made from organic Samoan coconut oil. Few coconut oils can claim this. Commercial grade coconut oil is extracted from dried coconut flesh (copra), then refined using heat, filters and preservatives such as sodium hydroxide. Other methods use chemical solvents to extract the oil. This produces Refined, Bleached and Deodorised (RBD) coconut oil, which may then also be hydrogenated. At Mailelani, we prefer to use oils extracted in a much gentler, natural way. The Direct Micro Expelling method (DME) is simple and environmentally friendly.

Dr Dan Etheringthon developed the DME technique and founded Kokonut Pacific, bringing “new life from the tree of life” to island coconut producers and coconut consumers all over the world.

With the DME process, the virgin coconut oil is extracted only from fresh coconut flesh. Besides, the oil that’s produced is of excellent quality – handmade, natural, raw and unrefined, retaining all the original qualities of the oil. In this method, the oil is extracted from the coconut within one hour of splitting the seed. Small local teams grate the flesh, dry and load it into a press and hand-press it. The dry coconut residue is great for baking, so nothing gets lost!